The Shelbina Story Continues to Educate

No portion of this article may be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder. Reprinted with permission from Kerry Blue Terrier Foudnation.

As part of the Foundation's rescue work, educating about puppy mills is as important as rescuing the individual dogs. Our Shelbina stories are now educating
legislators about this incredible tragedy called the puppy mill.

The Shelbina rescue opened my eyes -- not only to the horrors of puppy mills, but the fact that these Shelbina dogs were from a USDA inspected operation.
Steve Kruse's Stonehenge Kennels in Iowa is one of the largest puppy factories in the country, supplying a wide variety of puppy breeds to pet stores
across the country. Many of them are AKC registered, including Shelby. So there is no doubt that the AKC also inspects Kruse's operation. If they don't
I don't know what they're inspecting.

So how did the USDA and the AKC miss all of the injured Shelbina dogs during their inspections? It's indicative of how worthless the current inspection
programs are.

Iowa is a state that is considering state legislation to license and monitor these dog breeding operations. When we heard of this, we supplied organizations
fighting for Iowa state oversight with documentation of our Shelbine Kerries and the horrors of Kruse's operation. We were delighted to see that much
of it was used during one of the first public meetings on the legislation. Shelby's before and after pictures were shown on the large screen for all
to witness. I couldn't think of a more appropriate way to honor ALL of those dogs who suffered in the mills -- to share their stories to improve the
lives of those who continue to suffer. Watch the video and you will see Shelby on the big screen.

Licensed and Inspected Commercial Kennels

Photos of Dogs

by Tracey Fulmer, Director, Kerry Blue Terrier Foundation

USDA inspections of commercial kennels does not mean anything.

Click to see some photos of dogs found in USDA inspected kennels (.pdf file)

In addition to helping the individual Kerries rescued from mills and curtailing the supply of commercially-bred Kerries (that inevitably land in rescue),
another important objective of the Foundation's mill rescue efforts is to document their stories. This documentation serves to educate about the suffering
of puppy mill dogs and the travesty and tragedy of the commercial puppy farming "industry". The Foundation provided pictures of several Shelbina rescue
dogs (in conjunction with Connie Stickley of Iowa Wheaten Rescue) to use in the above photo compilation of this suffering and cruelty.